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Physical Activities for 3-Year-Olds

Physical activities not only provide entertainment and fun for your three-year old but they also help them develop their gross motor skills. Just as a child needs fine motor skills to write or tie a shoe, he also needs gross motor skills to walk, run, sit and play. Choose physical activities for your three-year old that strengthen his gross muscles---the muscles in his torso.

  1. Balance Beam

    • Develop your young child's balancing skills. Using two bricks and a wide plank of wood, build a balance beam in your backyard. If the child falls, the beam will be low enough to the ground so he won't hurt himself. Show him how to walk across, holding his arms out for balance then let him try. Once your three-year old masters this task, add a brick to each side making the balance beam a little bit higher but still not high enough to injure himself.

    Hula Hoop

    • Buy your three-year old a child-sized hula hoop and teach him all the different ways he can use it. Show him how to spin it around his torso and arms. You can also make up fun games using the hula hoops such as laying it on the ground and letting him jump in the hoop then jump back out of the hoop. Or hold the hoop up so he can jump through it. Send the hula hoop rolling across the yard on its side and let your child chase after it.

    Imitate Animals

    • Imitating animals works on your child's gross motor skills as well as his imagination while entertaining him. He can waddle like a penguin, hop like a frog or slither on the ground like a snake. You can also teach him to hop like a rabbit, walk like a dog or spring like a kangaroo. He'll have so much more fun if you play this game along with him.

    Throwing Games

    • Using a bean bag or small ball, teach your child how to throw. You and the child can toss the bean bag back and forth or you can set up a game for him to play. Have him throw the bean bag into a laundry basket or over a rope. You can also punch out different size holes in cardboard and let him try to get the bean bag threw each hole.

    Dancing

    • Play your child's favorite kid songs, introduce him to your favorite genre of music or just turn on the radio and dance together. This allows him to jump up and down, shake his hips and move his arms and feet to a beat. He will get to spend quality time with you, exercise, have fun and maybe even develop an interest in music and dance.

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